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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chest · field · mug · content · game · stem · fall · bear

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. stem — to come from
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — a subject
  5. mug — to rob
  6. mug — a cup
  7. content — happy
  8. bear — the animal
  9. game — wild animals
  10. content — the amount
  11. mug — a face
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bear — the animal
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. chest — a box
  18. game — a match
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. field — for sport
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. fall — the season
  24. chest — of your body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com